“I lost focus” – Brighton player aware ‘many people doubting’ him, confidence has been hit

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Julio Enciso has revealed he asked Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro to replace him after missing a penalty against Venezuela on Tuesday.

   The attacking midfielder had a chance to equalize in the first half after Jon Aramburu put Venezuela ahead in the 25th minute.    He failed to convert from the spot.

   According to Versus, the Brighton player limped the ball straight into the hands of Venezuelan goalkeeper Rafael Romo.

   The 20-year-old was honest when he admitted he lost confidence when he missed the penalty and asked to be substituted after the break.    But Alfaro did not accept his request and left him on the pitch for 88 minutes.

   Paraguay eventually secured a 2-1 victory thanks to a second-half goal from Torino’s Antonio Sanabria.    Enciso has now spoken about the support he received from the national team coach and teammates.

   “He (Alfaro) told me I was one of the players he really liked and that motivated me to keep going because I told him to change because I was completely unfocused when I didn’t score  .I was down, luckily we could turn it around and bring joy to the country,” he said, as quoted by Versus.

   “I really appreciate the support I got from my teammates, it’s an amazing group we have, the truth is that everyone supported me and thank God I was able to go the other way in the second half.

   “To miss a penalty is very difficult for a player, even more so with my national team, the country that I love so much, the truth is that it is very bad.”

   The Brighton footballer also took the opportunity to apologize to Paraguay fans.

   “First of all, I want to apologize to all the people. I know that at this moment many people may doubt my ability, I wanted to give them a goal, but I got a little out of focus and I want to apologize,” explained Enciso.

   “The effort of all my teammates, the effort we made for the whole country, I’m very happy to give them the joy that we all deserve.”

   The Paraguayan international has been restricted to 75 minutes in five Premier League games for Brighton this season.    He had one assist in two EFL Cup games.